EAST ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The New York State Ballet Company in East Rochester is getting into the Halloween spirit with a fall fundraiser. The nonprofit will present “Echoes of Poe: A Ballet Soirée”, a production about the life of Edgar Allen Poe and his wife.

News10NBC at the ballet company on Tuesday morning, speaking to performers about how they’re preparing for the production.

Anna Ackerman is playing Virginia Eliza Poe, who dies of tuberculosis but comes back as a ghost to haunt her husband. Ryo Munakata is playing Poe, who he describes as trapped in both hope and darkness.

Artistic director Katherine Polaski said the ballet tells the story of Poe’s efforts to save his wife through his writing, set to classical music. It incorporates Poe’s short stories “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Raven.”

“Many people aren’t totally aware that he wrote many of his short stories in hopes to raise enough money to actually get the medication needed for tuberculosis. But unfortunately, he never could actually get enough funds together to save his wife, Virginia,” she said.

The New York State Ballet Company has ten company dancers. Polaski said she has been working with some of the performers since they were young adults.

“They are really dedicated to their craft and it’s great to cultivate, not only them but to have them cultivate my younger students of our academy,” Polaski said.

Mackenzie Kenyon, who plays the Raven in the ballet, says her role embodies the nothingness of death.

“It’s super fun to really challenge myself in kind of a new character that I definitely don’t have much experience with and just kind of bringing that to life — or death,” Kenyon said.

The ballet is taking place on Thursday, Oct. 17 and Friday, Oct. 18. Both shows begin at 7 p.m. at the studio on 821 Fairport Rd. You can get tickets here.